Sore Eye Sudsing

Hey you, yes you, don’t look over your shoulder! I’ve been stuck in this #indiebeer conversation for some time and I’m here to say, no, that won’t be the focus of my blog; it did, however, consume all my time for a bit. This is the beginning of my blog returning to what it has always been about, drinking amazing, craft beer, and more importantly, fun!

I’ve had some awesome beerventures lately and I wanted to share some of them with you. First up, have I said publicly that I’m in the SDSU Business of Craft Beer certificate program? Well, if not, I just did! I’m coming to the end of my second class, Beer Styles 1, and have been having a blast so far. I’m in the program to deepen my knowledge of craft beer and the business surrounding this amazing community/industry. The picture you’re looking at is an example of the beers we sampled one night. If you’re interested in craft beer I can’t recommend the program enough, get enrolled today.

The weekend of Feb 19-21 my wife and I enjoyed an amazing weekend in a cabin in Idyllwild. While beer wasn’t the focus of this trip, we did a great job getting through the most of the beers you see on the right! I only brought a few home. Each and every craft beer was a standout and you should seek them out. If I had to pick one beer out of this group it would have to be Noyaux; although that has as much to do with how well it paired with the delicious rib eye steak we got from Iowa Meat Farms as it does with the excellence of the beer itself. Side note: both Pick Six and City of the Sun are supreme jacuzzi beers.

On Feb 23 I had the pleasure of being on A Shot and A Beer. This is Karl Prohaska’s new podcast. He’s released 2 episodes, and I’ll be on the fourth. Subscribe to his show if you haven’t! That same night we recorded the MVCBFF podcast (a festival Karl started) at SD Brew Project (the home of SD BeerTalk). Hurrah double podcast day!

Last Wednesday night I joined a few of my friends to begin studying for the BJCP test. Again, this is an effort to broaden my knowledge of craft beer, as well as, hang out with some of my great friends. As you can see we did pilsners, a wonderful, often overlooked style. Pick Six and Pivo Pils were the standouts for me but all were very enjoyable.

Last Friday was a double up of visits to Clairemont breweries. First up was the release of Ephesus at Council Brewing. This golden sour supposedly has a lot of fruitiness, a quality I look for in beers of this style. I’m looking forward to opening one up this week. The bonus was they still had a few bottles of Chalcedon, so I grabbed one. That same day I had a late afternoon appointment cancel (yes, total bummer), so I headed over to Kilowatt Brewing. Since SD Beertalk’s first anniversary party last year I’ve been meaning to visit this small but cool brewery. The interior is incredibly unique as are the beers brewed within. I started with a trio of S3, a berliner wise they first brewed with Home Brew Co. and Intergalactic for that party. Out of the three I had, I have to give the win to watermelon. I was then, unexpectedly, joined by my podcast partner, Greg. He works in the same parking lot, saw my checkin, and joined me for a pint. I totally enjoyed my visit and I suggest that you give them a shot as well.

The following day, Saturday, we (my wife, a friend, and I) went to Abnormal Tube Meat Madness at Machete Beer House. Holy shit, was this a fun event. If you’re not familiar with Eating and Drinking in San Diego, let me tell you, it’s a fun group (usually) to be a part of. For $40 we got 6 sausage dishes prepared by amazing local chefs, each was paired with an exceptional Abnormal beer. Seriously, this was a great day! I’m totally stoked I went and was impressed with the superb tap list at Machete. The event was a complete success; congratulations to Hanis for the double championship! He won the judge’s pick and the people’s pick!

Sunday, I brewed another batch of the best homebrew I make, Chinout. This is a single hoppped (Chinook) American stout. Last year this beer earned me a fourth place at the San Diego Fair so I’m calling myself an award winning homebrewer for the rest of time. The brew day went as easily as any has before it, a small amount of scrambling, but nothing feather ruffling. The boil went great and fermentation was off to a great start before I got home from work last night. I use White Labs WLP007 for this beer and when I nail my gravity it always needs a blow off setup, so I was prepared. I recently got a chest freezer to control fermentation temperature and I’m really excited that I have finally got everything dialed in with that. I look forward to tasting this batch soon.

Whoa, when I stated this post I had no idea it was going to be this long. It’s been a good ten days of craft/indie beer stuff! I’m just about 900 words in on this post, so I’m sure very few of you are actually still reading it. Here’s my questions: 1. What have you done beer related lately that was actually fun? 2. How can I help bring more fun to my followers?